Chapter 19:Money and Talent Pour In

 Chapter 19: Busking (2)

As usual, while wandering around the neighborhood, Ryu Sung heard singing again and changed direction.

It's that person from before.

As he headed to the park, the crowd grew thicker.

"What's going on?"

Approaching cautiously, he saw dozens of people listening to the song. Among them were a few men in suits who stood out. They stood with arms crossed, nodding slightly as if appraising the performance.

♪♩♩♬♪♩.

Ryu Sung was standing a bit away.

Is this because of me?

He had a hunch due to the drastically different situation from before. He quickly searched the internet and found it faster than expected.

"Huh, it really is."

Who would've thought someone filmed a video.

It's viral-worthy, though.

He hadn't expected it to blow up like this. The silver lining was that he wasn't in the video.

Good thing.

It was definitely a win for that singer.

And for me too.

I'd gotten some solid quest rewards out of it.

Soon, the song ended.

"Excuse me."

One man approached her and handed her a business card.

"I'm from an agency."

"Ah...!"

"Having heard you in person, your voice is fantastic. Would you be open to discussing a contract?"

"O-of course."

"For now, just give me a call when you have time."

"Yes...!"

Two more people followed suit. Watching this, Ryu Sung smirked and turned away.

Step by step.

He moved forward to snag a new quest.

*

He woke up early in the morning, ate breakfast, and skimmed the internet news.

"Same as yesterday."

"Huh? What is?"

"That dumb face of yours looks the same as yesterday."

"What nonsense! The dumb one is you, oppa!"

More importantly, what the hell are these things flying at me non-stop?

"...Finish your food before you talk, it's gross."

He wiped the stuff off her face and smeared it on Ryu Hyun-ah's cheek. Seeing her lick it off made his stomach churn.

"It's delicious, though."

"Sigh, why do you always pick the dirtiest habits?"

"It's my thing?"

Then she suddenly shoved her ugly face right up to him.

"Ah, so what! What are you looking at?"

She checked the internet article on her smartphone and deflated with disappointment.

"What, just news? I thought you were looking at something weird."

"As if I'd look at you."

"What about me! Hmph, but you're really getting into this full-time investor thing?"

"Ahem, gotta do it right."

Not exactly the reason, but whatever.

"So what's the same?"

"The news articles."

"Ah...?"

"Now ignore it and eat."

"Yessir!"

Sigh, really.

He wanted to smack her properly, but held back.

Yeah, it's all the same.

He'd reached enlightenment by now.

He turned back to the internet articles. Were all the world's events just more of the same? Nothing really caught his eye. Still, he kept reading. You never know—he might stumble on a quest trigger in one of these.

That's when it happened. A fresh, hot-off-the-press article grabbed his attention. It was about that busking singer who'd been all the rage a few days ago signing with a major agency.

"Wow."

One quest-sparked action had led to this.

Pretty amazing.

It was good news, so he filed it away in his memory.

Her name's Yeon Ji-eun, huh.

He learned her name from a similar article. Nothing else special, so he moved on. By then, he'd finished breakfast clean.

"Good meal."

He said thanks, did the dishes, and headed out. It was the weekend, so he set out to explore the next neighborhood over with renewed spirits.

Hope something pops up.

No quests since the busker, so he was a bit expectant today.

*

It was a lucky explosion of a day.

Two super simple quests appeared, and clearing them brought his total good deed points to 27. Just 3 more, and he could buy the stock or coin info ticket.

If he cleared a quest at tomorrow evening's alumni gathering, he'd get at least 3 more points for sure.

That'll make 30.

He could multiply his money big time again.

How much would he make? His heart was already racing.

Thump, thump.

Just one more day.

What to do today?

After some thought, he decided to open the cards he'd been saving. If they were all duds, he could use it as a jinx-breaker for tomorrow's jackpot.

Open cards.

He flicked one spinning card with his finger. It approached at considerable speed, then stopped to reveal the word “MISS” right in front of his eyes.

Not bad.

He’d half-expected it anyway.

He opened another card, and this time something felt different.

Whoosh—

A powerful light burst forth.

[You have selected the lowest-grade ‘Talent’ card.]

[An astonishing talent.]

[As a reward, you acquire ‘Composure (Passive)’]

[You can check the talent by recalling it.]

A talent had appeared again.

“Ooooh…?”

He immediately checked it.

[Composure]

[An astonishing talent that allows you to maintain composure anywhere, anytime.]

It felt like something impressive yet somehow not all that impressive at the same time.

“…Feels really strange.”

Dirty yet good.

A mixed feeling.

Ryu Sung read the talent description several more times, then shook his head and opened the last remaining card.

As expected, another miss.

Still, landing one talent was a solid gain. He wasn’t sure just how effective this “Composure” would actually be, though.

The next day.

Instead of going out, he spent the time studying the stock and crypto markets.

What direction the economy might take.

The visions of each company riding that wave.

The more he looked, the more conviction he felt.

Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The giant companies already on that trend would continue growing at an unstoppable pace.

Lying in bed, he watched a few YouTuber videos together with Lucky. He subscribed to the channels whose video quality stood out.

Beep beep beep.

An alarm snapped him back to reality.

It was already 5 o’clock.

If he got ready slowly and left now, the timing should be just right.

He got up.

And began preparing for the alumni reunion.

Quite some time passed.

After finally adjusting his clothes one last time, he stepped out the front door.

“I’m heading out.”

As soon as he was outside, he called Lee Shin-woo.

“Almost there.”

(Okay, coming down now.)

“Got it.”

Before he reached the chicken restaurant, he spotted Lee Shin-woo’s car parked on the roadside. Ryu Sung opened the door and slid into the passenger seat. While buckling up, he gave Lee Shin-woo a quick once-over.

“You look different from usual?”

“Ahem, you’re no slouch either, dude.”

“It’s been a while.”

“Right? Heh heh.”

Seeing each other dressed up so neatly felt awkward, but that awkwardness made it more fun.

“Man, it’s really been forever since we last saw everyone’s faces.”

“We chat sometimes, though.”

“There’s the group chat, but honestly, it’s hard to meet even once a year.”

“True.”

“Everyone’s secretly so busy.”

They chatted nonsense as they drove to the reunion venue. After about 35 minutes, they arrived at a surprisingly large and clean hotel.

“They rented out the buffet restaurant here, right?”

“Yeah. Looks like they only take group reservations on weekdays. The price is pretty reasonable too. Last year we went to some weird place—by the time we ate and drank, it came out to over 30,000 won per person. This time it’s a buffet, so we knew the price in advance. 25,000 won and the quality’s solid.”

“Way better than last time.”

“Right?”

“Kuuh, time to stuff my face after so long.”

The two parked and headed up to the second floor.

The place was already bustling inside.

Faces he vaguely recognized, classmates from the same homeroom, and especially the ones he’d been close with—one by one they came into view.

“Over here!”

A friend he hadn’t seen in ages waved.

“Hey, Sung-chan.”

“How long has it been?”

“Seriously good to see you.”

It was Choi Sung-chan, his classmate from senior year of high school. Ryu Sung and Lee Shin-woo sat down across from him at the round table.

“Yo, Choi Sung-chan. You look exactly the same.”

“Same to you, punk.”

Ryu Sung laughed at their greeting.

“Hey hey, you two saw each other just last year, so of course you look the same.”

“Oh, right?”

“Yeah. Anyway—where are the teachers?”

“Ah, right. See the central hall over there? They’re all gathered there.”

“I should go say hello. Come on, you too.”

“Okay.”

“I already did, so I’ll stay here. Go ahead.”

Nodding, Ryu Sung and Lee Shin-woo stood up and walked toward the central table. There, their old high school homeroom teacher was sitting with a warm, hearty laugh. The sight filled Ryu Sung with genuine joy, and his steps quickened. He practically jogged over.

“Teacher!”

“Oh? Ryu Sung! And Shin-woo too.”

It was the teacher he remembered most fondly.

Mr. Kim Chang-ho.

Seeing him after so long felt incredibly good.

“You look healthy. I’m really glad.”

“Of course. Still full of energy.”

“You look better than me, honestly.”

“You little rascal, cracking jokes now.”

“Hehe. By the way, I heard there’s a collection drive today too.”

“That’s right.”

Mr. Kim Chang-ho turned his head and looked toward Kim Mi-so.

“Mi-so over there was the one who brought it up first. There are a few students going through tough times, so this really means a lot to us. We feel sorry, but also proud… it’s complicated.”

Ryu Sung followed his gaze.

Kim Mi-so.

She had been the student council president back in high school, but they hadn’t talked much. They’d been in the same club, yet their interactions had always been distant. Still, he knew she was diligent and studied hard.

She was always in the top 3 of the entire grade.

Every exam period, her name would come up. Someone from Class X got first place again, or someone scored this many points on the mock exam—and Kim Mi-so’s name was never missing from those conversations.

“The collection is voluntary, so don’t feel pressured.”

“Yes, I won’t.”

“It’s reassuring to see you’re both doing well without any major troubles.”

That was what he liked about this teacher.

He never casually threw out the questions most people ask so lightly.

Have you found a job yet?

What do you do now?

Which company?

None of that.

He simply looked at them as they were in the present.

“Hello, Teacher!”

“Oh, hello.”

In the meantime, other vaguely familiar faces approached to greet the teacher. Ryu Sung and Lee Shin-woo also said hello to the other teachers before returning to their original seats.

“Ah, it really feels good to see him after so long.”

“Right? He hasn’t changed at all. Maybe because I’m a dad now, it hits me a little harder.”

“That makes sense.”

“I always think I should drop by the school sometime, but it’s never easy. Moments like this are the only chance.”

“That’s just how life goes.”

Still… maybe things could change a little from now on.

By paying a bit more attention to the people around him.

By taking one heavy step forward.

By reaching out the hand he’d kept hidden.

A life where people influence each other like that.

Just… the thought crossed his mind.

“But I’m not saying we should just accept everything as it is.”

“Hm?”

“I’m saying we should keep trying.”

“Ah, yeah. Since when did you start saying the right things?”

“Just… you know.”

The Ryu Sung who knew about the quests and the one who didn’t were clearly living very different lives now.

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